7 Critical Cyber Security Measures for Associations

Your Computer Network Is Being Haunted, And Your Membership Association is Under Cyber Security Attacks.

Right now, Cyber Security attacks are being perpetrated by extremely dangerous and well-funded cybercrime rings using sophisticated techniques to hack into thousands of membership associations to steal credentials, credit cards, and other confidential business data with one goal in mind: blackmail the executives of these assocaitions to recover data, and swindle money directly out of their organization’s bank accounts.

This new threat is called CEO Phishing, and it is a real threat. FBI also calls them “Business Email Compromise” (BEC). If you’ve recently received a bogus email supposedly from your Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer, or a member of the board asking for a bank transfer, you just got a taste of this threat.

82,000 NEW malware threats are being released every single day and HALF of the cyber security attacks occurring are aimed at small organizations just like yours. You just don’t hear about it because it’s kept quiet for fear of bad PR, lawsuits and sheer embarrassment.

The National Cyber Security Alliance reports that 1 in 5 small businesses have been victims of cyber security crime in the last year and this number is growing rapidly as businesses continue to move to cloud computing and mobile device, and to store more information online.

The worst part of this is that all the current security tools we pile onto the network are practically useless against these types of cyber security attacks because they target human beings. This is what is popularly known as social engineering attacks.

What can you do?

Here are 7 critical security measures your business must have in place to have any chance of fending off these criminals:

Train Employees On Security Best Practices. The #1 vulnerability for business networks is the employees using them. If they don’t know how to spot infected e-mails or online scams, they could infect your entire network.

Create An Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) And Enforce It! An AUP outlines how employees are permitted to use company-owned PCs, devices, software, Internet access and e-mail. Having this type of policy is critical if your employees are using their own devices to access company e-mail and data.

Require STRONG passwords throughout your company. Passwords should be at least 8 characters and contain lowercase and uppercase letters, symbols and at least one number.

Keep Your Network Up-To-Date. New vulnerabilities are found almost daily on common software programs you use all the time; therefore it’s critical you patch and update systems frequently.

Have An Excellent Backup. A quality backup can foil even the most aggressive ransomware attacks, where a hacker locks up your files and holds them ransom until you pay up. If your files are backed up, you don’t have to pay to get your data back.

Don’t Allow Employees To Download Unauthorized Software. One of the fastest ways to access your network is by embedding malicious code in seemingly harmless apps.

Don’t Scrimp On A Good Firewall. While a firewall may not be able to stop a social engineering attack, it is still the frontline defense against hackers, so you need a really good one, with monitoring and maintenance done regularly.